Florida landlords

Florida landlord software built around Chapter 83

Florida landlord-tenant law under Chapter 83 sets clear rules: a 12-hour entry notice, a 3-day non-payment notice before filing, and a deposit return window that splits depending on whether you make deductions. Getting these right keeps your lease enforceable and keeps you out of county court.

About Florida

Florida does not cap the deposit, so the whole risk sits in the notice. If you are keeping nothing, the deposit goes back within 15 days of the tenancy ending. If you intend to keep any of it, you have 30 days to send written notice of the claim by certified mail to the tenant's last known address. Fla. Stat. 83.49 is blunt about missing that deadline: you forfeit the right to impose a claim on the deposit at all, and have to sue for damages after returning it. The tenant then has 15 days to object.

  • Source: Fla. Stat. 83.49, Florida Legislature (https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.49.html)

Security deposit cap

No statutory cap

  • Florida does not limit the size of a security deposit. The amount is set in your lease.

Deposit return (no deductions)

15 days after move-out

  • If you are returning the full deposit with no deductions, it must be returned within 15 days. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a).

Deposit return (with deductions)

Notice within 30 days

  • You must send written notice of your intent to impose a claim within 30 days. The tenant then has 15 days to object. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(b).

Non-payment notice

3-day notice (business days)

  • Fla. Stat. § 83.56(3). Three business days to pay or vacate. Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays are excluded from the count.

Month-to-month termination

15 days before end of period

  • Fla. Stat. § 83.57(3). Either party must give at least 15 days notice before the end of the monthly period.

Landlord entry notice

12 hours advance notice

  • Fla. Stat. § 83.53. Entry is permitted between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. for non-emergency repairs or inspections. Emergency entry requires no advance notice.

The numbers that matter

15 days: To return the deposit when you are keeping none of it

Source: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.49.html

30 days: To send certified notice of a claim, or forfeit it

Source: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.49.html

15 days: The tenant has to object to your claim

Source: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.49.html

Keep your Florida rental ahead of Chapter 83

The 15 and 30-day deposit windows and your rent accounting, tracked automatically. Start free on your first 3 units.